1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to systems of networked computers particularly with respect to transporting messages between application processes residing on the computers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In systems comprising networked computers, message transport mechanisms exist for intracomputer and intercomputer transport of messages between application processes of applications running on, or distributed, across the computers. UNIX based computers (e.g., UNIX System V Release 4.0 (SVR4)) utilize message queues for intracomputer communication and remote message transport procedures for intercomputer message communication. In UNIX SVR4, application processes are given process IDs and are assigned respective queues from which to receive messages. A process desiring to send a message to another process on the same computer must obtain the name of the queue assigned to the recipient process.
Other computers may utilize a multicomputer architecture where message communication is performed across a backplane utilizing a high performance bus system such as MultiBus II. In such a system, addressed messages are placed on the bus and are retrieved by recipient processes communicating with the bus.
Intercomputer message communication may be effected by such communication interfaces as TCP/IP, SCSI, or the like.
Pursuant to the intracomputer and intercomputer communication systems utilized, the applications running on the computers include interprocess communication procedures that typically are specific to the underlying protocols, formats and structures of the intercomputer and intracomputer communication mechanisms of the system. The protocols, formats and structures required by different machines on the network may be different with respect to each other and the applications would be required to be aware of these differences for interprocess communication. For example, in UNIX based computers, the applications must all be aware of the message queue assignment agreements effected between the processes. Additionally, the application communication procedure typically must have explicit knowledge of the destination, such as the physical location of the recipient process, i.e., whether it is on the same or a different machine from the originating process, if on a different machine, what is the intercomputer transport mechanism, and the like.
This arrangement requires each application to carry a significant interprocess communication overhead which must be duplicated each time a new application is introduced to the system. The problems are further exacerbated when applications are distributed over multiple computers of the system of diverse types.
The interprocess communication problem is particularly serious in a networked system of computers that form a platform such as described in said Ser. No. 08/344,316. The platform system of Ser. No. 08/344,316, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,371, supports concurrently running diverse applications relating to the Common Channel Signaling (CCS) network. The interprocess communication problems described above could seriously impact on the efficacy of the system as a platform if it were required to write each new application specifically for connection with the underlying message transport mechanisms of the platform. Considerable application modification would be required if it were desired to add computers to the underlying platform or change to computers having message transport mechanisms different from those already existing with respect to the machines of the platform.